"In the modern pack of playing cards, there are four suits of thirteen cards each; clubs and spades are printed black; hearts and diamonds, red. It is supposed that the figures in the various suits were originally intended as symbols of the different classes of men. Hearts represented the gens de chaeur, that is, the ecclesiastics, or choir men; espada, a Spanish word for sword and indicating nobility, has become spade. Clubs represented the trefoil and symbolized the peasantry, while diamonds repre sented square tiles, symbolical of the merchants. This symbolism is, of course, lost today in the great variety of games of skill and chance in which cards are employed."
SOURCE:
http://www.llano.net/baptist/originofcards.htm"The earliest authentic references to playing-cards in Europe date from 1377, but, despite their long history, it is only in recent decades that clues about their origins have begun to be understood. Cards must have been invented in China, where paper was invented. Even today some of the packs used in China have suits of coins and strings of coins - which Mah Jong players know as circles and bamboos (i.e. sticks). Cards entered Europe from the Islamic empire, where cups and swords were added as suit-symbols, as well as (non-figurative) court cards. It was in Europe that these were replaced by representations of courtly human beings: kings and their attendants - knights (on horseback) and foot-servants. To this day, packs of Italian playing-cards do not have queens - nor do packs in Spain, Germany and Switzerland (among others). There is evidence that Islamic cards also entered Spain, but it now seems likely that the modern cards which we call Spanish originated in France, ousting the early Arab-influenced designs."
SOURCE [a terrifically entertaining site]:
http://www.pagat.com/ipcs/history.html"Did you know that at one time, the king of hearts represented Charlemagne, the king of Diamonds was Julius Caesar, the king of clubs was Alexander the Great and the king of spades was King David from the Bible? These fascinating identities, along with special designations for the other court cards, were bestowed by the French who were instrumental in bringing the pleasures of card play to people in Europe and the New World.
"The earliest playing cards are believed to have originated in Central Asia. The documented history of card playing began in the 10th century, when the Chinese began using paper dominoes by shuffling and dealing them in new games. Four-suited decks with court cards evolved in the Moslem world and were imported by Europeans before 1370. In those days, cards were hand-painted and only the very wealthy could afford them, but with the invention of woodcuts in the 14th century, Europeans began mass-production
"It is from French designs that the cards we use today are derived. France gave us the suits of spades, clubs, diamonds and hearts, and the use of simple shapes and flat colors helped facilitate manufacture. French cards soon flooded the market and were exported in all directions. They became the standard in England first, and then in the British Colonies of America."
SOURCE:
http://www.usplayingcard.com/gamerules/briefhistory.html
